


The Farm Boy, the Princess, and the Giant Space Station of Doom

by SpacePirate8



Series: The Adventures of Dad Solo and Co. [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gen, Good Parent Han Solo, Han Solo loves his kid, Happy little family that gets pulled into some Crazy Shit, Its only mentioned tho, Jaina Solo loves her Dad, Minor Leia Organa/Han Solo, POV Jaina Solo, POV Original Female Character, Single Dad Han Solo, Uncle Chewbacca (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:27:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28855812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpacePirate8/pseuds/SpacePirate8
Summary: Jaina Solo is a smuggler's daughter, making her way through life amongst the galaxy's scum alongside her father and his wookiee first mate. They do alright, the three of them, but what happens when a wizard, a farmboy, and two droids pay an unusually high price for passage to the Alderaan system?Or, a retelling of Star Wars: A New Hope through the eyes of Han Solo's nine-year-old daughter.
Relationships: Chewbacca & Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker & Han Solo, Han Solo & Jaina Solo, Han Solo & Original Female Character(s), Leia Organa & Jaina Solo, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker & Han Solo, Leia Organa & Original Female Character(s), Leia Organa/Han Solo, Luke Skywalker & Han Solo, Luke Skywalker & Jaina Solo, Luke Skywalker & Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Adventures of Dad Solo and Co. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2116017
Comments: 9
Kudos: 41





	1. Tatooine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jaina watches a barfight and meets her father's latest customers.

“What can I get ya?” asked the waitress. She was a tall twi’lek woman, tough-looking like all the girls from Mos Eisley, but she made sure to give Jaina a kind smile, which the nine-year-old shyly returned as she followed the swaying of the waitress’ lekku with wide blue eyes.

“Corellian whiskey, please, and make it neat,” said Daddy. The waitress nodded and typed the order into her datapad. 

“Anything for your little girl?” asked the waitress. Daddy turned to Jaina. 

“Ya want anything, kiddo?” he asked. She kicked her feet against the back of their booth, considering. 

“Shuura juice,” she decided. After a quick look from Daddy, she added, “Please, ma’am."

“Sure thing, honey." The waitress grinned and walked away from their cozy booth in the back of the cantina. 

Jaina gnawed on a lock of hair, watching the people mill around. There was a band called “Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes” playing, and some folks were dancing to their music. Uncle Chewie was talking to some of the folks at the bar, looking for a new job for him and Daddy. He was talking with an old man who was dressed like a wizard. Jaina hoped the wizard had a job for them, he looked like fun to travel with. 

“Stop that,” said Daddy, tugging the hair out of her mouth. It had fallen out of its braid, which Daddy set about fixing. Jaina knew to hold still, but a crash and scream from the bar caused her to yank her head towards the noise, pulling her hair away from Daddy’s rough hands. 

A boy with yellow hair was picking himself off of the floor, and someone was lying on the ground, screaming in pain. The wizard was standing over him, holding a blue stick that disappeared before she could get a look at it. The band had gone silent, but Figrin D’an motioned them to keep playing after a quiet moment, and everyone went back to their business. Jaina hadn’t frequented this cantina much, but she had been there enough times to know this type of thing happened often. Still, Daddy put an arm around her and pulled her close.

The waitress returned with their drinks. Daddy let Jaina trade her the credits for the drinks. The waitress had given her a straw. She curled up against Daddy’s chest and sucked at her juice. It was sticky and sweet and not something Daddy kept on the Falcon, which made it special. 

Chewie returned with the wizard and the yellow-haired boy in tow. The boy was wearing farmer’s clothes. Jaina wondered if he worked on a moisture farm. 

_“This is Ben Kenobi. He’s looking to get to Alderaan_ , _”_ Chewie growled. He sat down on Jaina’s other side. The wizard- Ben Kenobi- and the boy sat across from them. Daddy leaned forward, so Jaina shifted her weight to rest against Chewie. 

“Han Solo,” Daddy introduced himself. “I’m captain of the Millennium Falcon. Chewie here tells me you’re looking for passage to the Alderaan System,” he said. 

“Yes indeed. If it’s a fast ship,” said Ben Kenobi. He had a funny accent, like he was trying to be fancy. Daddy’s eyebrow twitched. He always said that the Millenium Falcon was his pride and joy, second only to Jaina herself, and he didn’t take kindly to people insulting either of them. 

“Fast ship?” Daddy said. “You’ve never heard of the Millenium Falcon?” Jaina rolled her eyes- a good smuggler’s ship was a ship whose name wasn’t well known. Daddy was only pretending, getting a feel for their potential customers. It was something Jaina had seen a thousand times. 

“Should I have?” asked Kenobi. Jaina couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or genuinely curious. 

“It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs,” boasted Daddy. Jaina smiled- she had been the one to measure that. It had been eleven-point-eight-three-two, to be exact, and a fun day on top of it. “I’ve outrun imperial starships,” Daddy continued. “Not the local bulk cruisers, mind ya, I’m talkin’ about the big Corellian ships now." Also true, but a little less fun. “She’s fast enough for ya, old man." Jaina giggled into Chewie’s fur. The wookiee patted her head with a large hand. The boy gave her a funny look and Jaina retreated behind Chewie’s arm. Peaking out, she saw the boy look apologetic. He was quite a bit older than her, maybe he felt bad. “What’s the cargo?” Daddy asked. 

“Only passengers,” said Kenobi. He was old, compared to Jaina, but he also seemed very wise, and that made people seem older. “Myself, the boy, two droids…” Jaina knew what was coming before the old man said it. “And no questions asked." Daddy smirked. 

“What is it, some kinda local trouble?” he said. Kenobi fixed stern blue eyes on him. 

“Let’s just say we’d like to avoid any imperial entanglements." Daddy’s eyes lit up, and Jaina knew he saw the opportunity. 

“Well, that’s the real trick, ain’t it,” he said. He was putting on an act, pretending to be doubtful. “And it's gonna cost ya somethin’ extra. Ten thousand, all in advance,” he said. It was a steep price, and Jaina thought the old man would back out. The boy did too, he looked very offended. 

“Ten thousand?” the boy asked incredulously. “We could almost buy our own ship for that!” 

“But who’s gonna fly it, kid?” said Daddy. “You?” The boy looked at him angrily. 

“You bet I could, I’m not such a bad pilot myself!” he declared. Jaina doubted he had ever been off Tatooine.

“Uh-huh,” said Daddy, looking very unimpressed. “My girl here could outfly ya, kid." Jaina smiled to herself. Daddy had only been teaching her for a year and she was already very good. The boy looked furious. 

“We don’t have to sit here and listen to this,” he hissed to Kenobi. The old man just lay a hand on his arm and motioned for him to calm down. 

“We can pay you two thousand now,” said Kenobi, “Plus fifteen when we reach Alderaan." Jaina squeaked and looked up at Chewie. Seventeen was a lot of money. Daddy raised his eyebrows, reconsidering. 

“Seventeen,” he said. Kenobi nodded. He was being serious, Jaina realized. Daddy’s mouth twitched, trying to keep a Sabaac face over a grin. “Okay, you got yourself a ship. We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready. Docking bay ninety-four." A few white figures entered the bar and walked over to the bartender. Jaina squinted, even though she knew full well what the imperial stormtroopers looked like. She tugged on Daddy’s sleeve. 

“Ninety four,” the old man confirmed. Daddy followed Jaina’s eyes to the troopers and the bartender who was pointing to their table. Daddy pulled Jaina to him again. 

“Looks like somebody’s beginning to take an interest in your handiwork,” he said. The boy turned around so fast he could have cricked his neck. 

_“Alright, we’ll check it out,”_ said a trooper. The man got up, taking the boy with them. They were gone in an instant. Jaina sank into Daddy’s vest while the troopers passed their table, avoiding contact with their black eye-holes. Daddy didn’t, staring at them dead-on until they left. 

“Seventeen thousand!” Daddy said, looking at Chewie. “Those guys must really be desperate. This could really save my neck. Take Jaina back to the ship and get her ready,” he said. 

“Why, ain’t ya comin’?” asked Jaina. Daddy pressed a kiss to her temple. 

“I’ll be right after ya, kiddo,” he said. “Just stick with Chewie, yeah?” Jaina nodded dutifully. 

“Yes, Daddy." 

_“Hurry, Cub_ , said Chewie, scooping Jaina up. She giggled and swung onto his back. “ _We’ll meet you there."_ They left the cantina. Jaina thought she saw a green man walk over to Daddy before they went outside. 

Chewie took her back to the Falcon and they began getting the ship ready to go. Jaina sat in the galley, putting away the food and other supplies Daddy had bought earlier. Blue milk, some dried fruits, bread, and some jerky. Jaina took a stick of bantha-meat for herself and snacked on it as she finished stocking. It was too salty, but not bad. 

“Uncle Chewie, I’m done!” she called. 

_“Good_ , _”_ rumbled Chewie from the engine room. “ _Go turn on the navicomputer, little one”_. Jaina ran down the hall into the cockpit and began to boot up the computers. The computers whirred to life in a series of flashing lights and beeps. 

“I did it!” she called. The big door opened and Daddy walked into the docking bay, closely followed by the wizard, the boy, a blue astromech droid and a gold humanoid. “I see them!” Chewie walked into the cockpit and took his regular seat. Chewie growled and Jaina looked up through the duraglass to see stormtroopers swarming through the bay doors. They fired blasters at Daddy and the others. Chewie reached back and squeezed her knee, offering some comfort. Jaina saw Daddy return some fire, then they all ran up into the Falcon and Chewie closed the doors. 

“Chewie get us out of here!” barked Daddy, running into the cockpit and throwing himself into his seat. “Strap in!” he added to Jaina. Kenobi, the boy, and the gold droid- protocol type- strapped themselves around the dejarik table. Jaina ran to take her usual spot. The blaster fire was soon out of range as the Falcon raced away from the desert planet’s surface. A dark shape grew closer. 

_“Up ahead_ , _”_ warned Chewie. Dad frowned, fingers dancing over the dials and buttons in the way he said would come naturally to Jaina soon. 

“Looks like an imperial cruiser,” he muttered. “Our guys must be hotter than I thought. Try and hold them off- angle the deflector shields while I make the calculations for the jump to lightspeed." Jaina knew better than to offer to help or otherwise distract them. 

Two imperial star destroyers approached them as Chewie turned up the shields. 

“Stay sharp, there’s more comin’ in,” Daddy said. “They’ll try and cut us off." Their passengers came into the cockpit. Jaina knew she was supposed to be quiet, so she didn’t tell them to go away. 

“Why didn’t ya outrun ‘em, I thought ya said this thing was fast,” complained the boy through a thick Tatooine accent. 

“Watch your mouth kid, or you’re gonna find yourself floatin’ home,” snapped Daddy. “We’ll be safe enough once we make the jump to hyperspace."

“Daddy knows lotsa maneuvers,” said Jaina. “We’ll lose ‘em." The boy didn’t look convinced. A destroyer landed a blast against their shields. The wizard took the seat next to Jaina and the boy grabbed onto it as the ship shook. 

“How long until you can make the jump to lightspeed?” asked the wizard. 

“In a few moments we’ll get the coordinates from the navicomputer,” said Daddy, leaning back and messing with it. 

“You’re kidding, they’re right there gaining-” the boy said, unhelpfully pointing to the radar. 

“Travellin’ through hyperspace ain’t like dustin’ crops, boy,” Daddy said irritatedly. “Without precise calculations we could fly right through a star or bounce into a supernova and that’d end your trip real quick, wouldn’t it?" The red light that meant the shields were going went off. 

_“We’re losing the shields, _”_ reported Chewie. _

__

“What’s that flashing?” asked the boy, leaning over to point. Daddy pushed him back. 

__

“We’re losing the deflector shields. Go strap yourselves in, I’m gonna make the jump to lightspeed,” he ordered. Luke and the wizard exited the cockpit as Daddy pulled down on the hyperspace trigger and the stars blurred as they jumped into hyperspace.

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, Jaina is 9. Luke (and Leia) are still 19, but I de-aged Han a little (he's 26).


	2. New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jaina gets to know their passengers and Luke begins his training.

Daddy relaxed against his seat after they made the jump. 

“Ya doin’ okay, kiddo?” he asked. Jaina nodded and jumped down from her seat. 

“D’ya think our guys are criminals, Daddy?” she asked. Daddy shrugged. 

“Dunno, sweetheart. And don’t ask, right?” 

“Right." Jaina knew why- if it turns out they were criminals, and they did get caught, Daddy had taught her to claim they didn’t know, and to act very upset they had harbored traitors to the Empire. It was a matter of safety. 

“C’mon.” he said. Jaina stretched out her still legs. 

“Can we have dessert, Daddy?” They had eaten dinner on Tatooine, so Jaina was hoping for a treat. 

“Alright. Let’s get somethin’ sweet." Daddy swung Jaina up and carried her into the main room. The boy was talking to Kenobi in a low voice, eyeing Daddy suspiciously. Now that he wasn’t getting in the way, or asking a bunch of questions, Jaina thought he seemed very sad. He stopped talking when they came in. 

“I got us candy,” Daddy said, ignoring them. Jaina lit up- candied fruit was a rare treat, one she and Daddy loved, much to Chewie’s confusion. “Why don’t ya run and get some?” 

Jaina sprinted off towards the galley. Daddy usually kept sweets in the high cupboard above the sink. Jaina clambered up the counter and opened it up. Sure enough, the green box was there, tucked next to some sugar. She grabbed it, jumped down, and returned to the main room in the Falcon. 

Chewie was playing dejarik against the little astromech, who was being egged on by the gold droid. Jaina passed the box of fruit to Daddy, who was sitting at the big console, so he could open it up. 

“What’s that?” asked the boy. Jaina frowned, wondering if candied fruit was rare on Tatooine. 

“Candy,” she said. “It’s yummy. Want one?” The boy shot a quick glance at Kenobi. 

“Sure,” he shrugged. Daddy popped a piece of candy into his mouth and passed the box to Jaina. She took one herself and offered one to the boy. 

“Here,” she said. The face the boy made when he put it in his mouth told Jaina he liked it. At least he wasn’t crazy. “I’m Jaina Solo,” she said, holding out a hand. “You’ve already met Daddy and Uncle Chewie." The boy frowned and gently shook her hand. 

“I’m Luke Skywalker,” he said slowly. “That’s Ben Kenobi, C3PO, and R2D2."

“Hi,” said Jaina, looking around at the others. She hopped up onto the seat next to Chewie. 

“Do you always travel with your father?” Luke asked. Jaina smiled and nodded. “Wow,” Luke said. “What’s it being away from home for so long?” 

“We live on the Falcon,” said Jaina, “So wherever we are is home. That’s what Chewie says, anyway." The wookiee chuckled and patted her head. 

“That’s nice,” said Luke politely. Jaina hid a yawn behind her sleeve and glanced at the chrono. It was getting to be around the time Daddy made her get ready for bed. He hadn’t said anything yet, was probably more focused on their job. Not wanting to blow her chance, Jaina kept quiet and huddled next to Chewie, watching the colorful holo creatures move across the dejarik board until they blurred in her eyelids. 

Jaina woke up in her bed. Her shoes and jacket were off, but she was still dressed. Daddy must have carried her to bed after she dozed off. According to the chrono, she had only been out for an hour or so, it wasn’t that far past her bedtime. 

When she walked out of her room, Chewie was still playing dejarik with R2D2. Luke was waving a blue stick like the one the wizard had around, and a ball-like thing was floating around him. Jaina hid behind the wall and watched. 

“You’re daughter’s lucky,” he told Daddy, tracking the ball around. “She gets to grow up seeing the galaxy. This is the first time I’ve ever been off Tatooine." The ball fired a volley of yellow blasts at him. Luke managed to hit two with his glowing sword thing, but a third hit him in the leg. “Ow!”

“Focus, Luke,” chided Kenobi. 

“Sorry Ben. So, d’you guys always live on this ship?” Luke asked. Daddy nodded. 

“Uh-huh,” he said. “Been just the three of us for a while now. It’s a pretty good life, ain’t it?” Chewie growled in agreement. Luke’s blue laser thing disappeared into it’s silver handle. 

“What about her mother?” Jaina winced. Ma was a sore spot for Daddy. She had left when Jaina was too little to remember- she never missed her because she was never around to miss, and Daddy and Chewie were all she needed anyway. Daddy, however, had known her for a while, had loved her, and had been heartbroken when she left. 

“She ain’t around,” he said gruffly. Luke flushed. 

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t know." Daddy waved him off. A silence fell over the room. Chewie made a move against R2D2. Jaina stumbled out from behind the wall, and Daddy looked up from his work.

“Hey, what’re ya doin’ up?” he asked. Jaina yawned and climbed into his lap. 

“‘S not late yet,” she mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder. Daddy raised an eyebrow at her, but didn’t say anything. Luke turned his sword back on and began tracking the ball again. 

“What’s that thing?” Jaina asked. 

“A lightsaber,” said Kenobi, a kind twinkle in his eye. “A very old and unique weapon, once used by the Jedi knights." Jaina had heard the word Jedi before, but she never had the chance to learn much about them. Daddy insisted that it was all bantha-shavit, but Chewie said that he had fought with them before, before the Empire. Still, all Jaina knew was that they were warriors, or peacekeepers, or generals or something. The lightsaber was really cool to watch. The bright blue sung through the air and Luke swished it around. He didn’t look very practiced. 

“Oh,” she said. She straightened up in Daddy’s lap. “Can I try?” 

“No,” Daddy said, immediately. Jaina sighed dramatically, which only earned her braid a gentle tug. Her attention went to Kenobi. 

He sagged, frowned, pressed a hand to his chest, and then slowly walked over to a chair. Luke turned off the lightsaber again and walked over to him, looking concerned. 

“Are you alright?” he asked. “What’s wrong?” The old man looked very tired and very old.

“I felt a great disturbance in the Force,” he said sadly. “As if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened." He rubbed his forehead. “You’d better get on with your exercises." Jaina twisted around. 

“What d’ya think happened?” she whispered. Daddy pressed a kiss to her hair.

“Nothin’. Don’t worry about it, kiddo,” he said. Jaina wasn’t sure he was right this time. He dialed something into the console, Jaina wasn’t paying attention to what. She slid off his lap and went to fetch a glass of water. 

“Here, Mista Kenobi,” she said, passing him the glass. The old man took it. 

“Thank you, young one,” he said. Jaina returned to Daddy’s seat. 

“Well, you can forget your troubles with those imperial slugs, I told ya I’d outrun ‘em,” Daddy said to Kenobi. Luke resumed practicing with the lightsaber. Kenobi was staring at something that wasn’t there, and Luke was focused on his lightsaber. Daddy rolled his eyes. “Don’t everybody thank me at once."

“Thanks, Daddy,” Jaina murmured. Daddy laughed and tickled her side. “Stop!” Jaina squealed. 

“Alright, sweetheart. Anyway, we should be at Alderaan in 0200 hours,” he reported. Chewie made a move against one of the astromech’s players. 

“Now be careful, R2,” ordered C3PO bossily. The astromech moved one of his men across the board, taking out the one Chewie had just relocated. 

_ “Damn it _ , _ ” _ lamented Chewie. C3PO tsked. 

“He made a fair move, screaming about it can’t help you,” he snooted. 

“Let him have it,” Daddy suggested. Jaina nodded seriously. 

“It’s not wise to upset a wookiee,” she said. 

_ “Cub…” _ Chewie scolded. 

“But sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid,” insisted C3PO. Daddy smirked. 

“That’s ‘cause a droid don’t pull people’s arms out of their sockets when they lose,” he said. “Wookiees are known to do that." Jaina giggled into his shoulder. It wasn’t true at all, but the hustle couldn’t be argued with. Chewie put his arms behind his head. 

_ “What am I going to do with you _ , _ ” _ he growled. If it was possible for any droid's face to look frightened, C3PO’s did. 

“I see your point, sir,” he said. “I suggest a new strategy, R2. Let the wookiee win." 

_ “That was mean,” _ Chewie chuckled. Jaina giggled and went back to watching the lightsaber practice. 

“Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him,” Kenobi instructed Luke.

“You mean it controls your actions?” Luke asked. Kenobi nodded. 

“Partially, but it also obeys your commands." Another blast nailed Luke in the leg. Jaina and Daddy laughed. 

“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid,” Daddy said. Luke turned to him, offended. 

“You don’t believe in the Force, do you?” he asked. Daddy rolled his eyes. 

“Kid, I’ve flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I’ve seen a lot of strange stuff-”

“Like that lady on Rodia with the really big-” Daddy cut Jaina off. 

“Yeah. Like that lady. But, I’ve never seen anything to make me believe there’s an all-powerful force controllin’ everything. There’s no mystical energy field controls my destiny. It’s all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense." 

“I suggest you try it again, Luke,” said Kenobi. He got up and grabbed a helmet from the wall. “This time, let go on your conscious self and act on instinct." He lowered the helmet over Luke, blocking his eyesight. 

“With the blast shield down, I can’t even see,” Luke whined. “How am I supposed to fight?”

“Your eyes can deceive you, don’t trust them,” said Kenobi. Luke shrugged and tried again. He got hit. “Stretch out with your feelings,” commanded the wizard. 

“Daddy, what’s he talkin’ about?” Jaina asked. 

“Bantha-shavit, that’s what,” he said. “Ignore ‘em, kiddo." Jaina nodded, but then Luke managed to catch one, two, three blasts. Maybe Kenobi was onto something. He smiled proudly.

“You see? You can do it,” he said. Luke took off the helmet and shook out his blond hair. Daddy snorted. 

“I call it luck,” he insisted. Kenobi frowned. 

“In my experience, there’s no such thing as luck,” he said. 

“Daddy says luck made me his daughter,” offered Jaina. 

“Damn straight it did. Look, all I’m sayin’ is good against remotes is one thing. Good against the livin’, that’s somethin’ else." The Falcon began to signal that they were approaching Alderaan. 

“Daddy, looks like we’re comin’ up on Alderaan,” Jaina said, pointing. She slid down from his lap and went to get her shoes. Daddy and Chewie went into the cockpit. 

“You know, I did feel something. I could almost see the remote,” Luke confessed. 

“That’s good,” said Kenobi. You’ve taken your first step into a larger world." Luke beamed and ran off into the cockpit. 

“Mista Kenobi?” asked Jaina, tugging on his sleeve. “What’s the Force?” The old man bent down to meet her eyes. 

“The Force is in everything, young one. It’s a part of who we are, ever present. The Jedi are those with the ability to see into the Force, to use it as a guide and a tool." Jaina nodded. 

“Cool,” she said. “Are you a Jedi?” 

“I was,” said Kenobi. “A long time ago, when I was a different man." 

“Oh." Jaina wanted to ask more, but Daddy called them into the cockpit. 

“Strap in,” Daddy ordered. Jaina scooted to the side of her usual spot to let Luke cram in next to her. “Stand by Chewie, here we go. Cut in the sublight engines." He reached up and the Falcon left hyperspace. They were surrounded by floating boulders that rocked the ship. “What the-”

_ “Look out _ , _ ” _ growled Chewie. 

“Argh, we’ve come out of hyperspace into a meteor shower,” Daddy said. Jaina reached around and pulled up the schematics for the system. 

“It’s not on any of the charts, Daddy,” she reported.

“What’s going on?” Luke asked, looking around wide eyes at the asteroids. 

“Our position is correct, but no Alderaan,” Daddy muttered. 

“What do you mean? Where is it?” Luke demanded. The ship continued to buck as shudder as Daddy dodged meteors. 

“That’s what I’m tryin’ to tell ya, kid, it ain’t there. It’s been totally blown away."

“What? How?”

“Destroyed by the Empire,” murmured Kenobi. 

“Can they do that?” asked Jaina. Daddy shook his head. 

“The entire starfleet couldn’t destroy the whole planet,” he said. “It’d take a thousand ships with more firepower than I’ve-” the Falcon beeped frantically. Jaina pulled up the radar. It showed a small ship approaching their position.

“There’s another ship comin’ in,” she said. “Maybe they know what happened?” Kenobi shook his head. 

“It’s an imperial fighter,” he said. Two blasts made the hull of the Falcon groan and an imperial TIE fighter overtook them. 

“It followed us!” Luke cried out. 

“No, it’s a short-range fighter,” corrected Kenobi. 

“Jaina, check for nearby bases,” Daddy ordered. Jaina looked. Nothing. 

“There aren’t any,” she said. 

“So where’d it come from?” he asked nobody. 

“It sure is leaving in a big hurry,” said Luke, watching the small ship race away. “If they identify us, we’re in big trouble!”

“Not if I can help it,” Daddy said. “Chewie, jam its transmissions." The old man leaned forward. 

“It’d be just as well to let it go, it’s too far out of range,” he said. Jaina sort of agreed with him. If she was piloting, she would just turn around and get out of there. 

“Not for long!” Daddy disagreed. 

“A fighter that size couldn’t get this deep into space on its own,” Kenobi mused. 

“He must have gotten lost, been part of a convoy or something,” Luke said, twisting around his seat. Jaina grunted as his elbow caught her ear. “Oh- sorry."

“Well, he ain’t gonna be around long enough to tell anybody about us,” said Daddy. The TIE began to approach something in the distance, a round body that could be a planet- but it was too small. 

“Look at him, he’s heading for that small moon,” Luke said. 

“I think I can get him before he gets there, he’s almost in range,” said Daddy. Kenobi leaned forward, looking very sure and completely incredulous. 

“That’s no moon,” he said. “It’s a space station." Jaina squinted through the duraglass. It was round and gray like a moon, with a huge crater on the side. A line went around the middle and there were lights everywhere on it. 

“It’s too big to be a space station,” said Daddy. 

“I have a very bad feeling about this,” shuddered Luke. 

“Turn the ship around,” ordered Kenobi. Daddy, not usually one to take orders, nodded. 

“Yeah. I think you’re right. Full reverse!” he ordered. “Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power. Jaina, get us a hyperspace route out of here." Jaina frantically leaned over and began finding the nearest jump out of the system. The ship began to shudder and quake violently. Jaina knocked her head on the wall. “Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power!” Daddy demanded, almost a rare yell. 

_ “I have, Cub _ , _ ” _ Chewie insisted. The ship began to pull closer and closer to the battle station. It was enormous, the size of a moon, but it was too perfect looking. It was terrifying. 

“Why are we still moving towards it?” Luke demanded. 

“We’re caught in the tractor beam, it’s pulling us in,” said Daddy. 

“Daddy?” Jaina asked. “What should I do?” 

“You don’t worry, kiddo. Everythin’s gonna be alright,” Daddy said. “I hope."

“There’s gotta be something you can do,” Luke said. Daddy shook his head. 

“There’s nothin’ I can do, kid, I’m at full power. I’m gonna have to shut down." He turned around and began releasing the engine controls. “They’re not gonna get me without a fight."

“You can’t win,” said Kenobi. “But there are alternatives to fighting." Daddy chewed on this lip thoughtfully, thinking about what Kenobi had said. Jaina thought Kenobi was right. There was no way they could fight, and she knew Daddy wouldn’t want to with her around. 

“The floor compartments,” he said to Chewie. The wookiee growled in agreement. They all filed out of the cockpit and into the main hall. 

“Everybody in,” he said. The battle station was growing bigger and bigger. Kenobi jumped down with a surprising amount of grace for somebody so old, and Luke followed. 

“Won’t they find it suspicious that the ship’s just floating in space, empty?” he asked. Daddy frowned. 

“Good point. I’ll write on the ship log that she was abandoned after last takeoff. Jaina, you next." He scooped Jaina up by the armpits and passed her down to Chewie, who lowered her to the floor. 

“Hurry, Daddy,” she said. Daddy’s heavy footsteps quickly moved around the ship. He jumped down and closed the hatch behind him. 

“Let’s hope this works,” he said. The ship gave an awful rattle again, and the humming of the tractor beam grew loader, along with the clanging sounds of a hangar. 

“Daddy…” Jaina squeezed her arms around him. 

“Shh,” he whispered. “It’s alright." The ship landed on the hangar floor. They were trapped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's starting to get real here, folks. Buckle up!


	3. The Death Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Luke decides to be a hero and Jaina commits a little sabotage.

It was quiet for a moment, then Jaina heard footsteps- right above them. She squeezed her eyes shut against the dark and held her breath until they went quiet again. After a long, silent moment, Kenobi whispered,

“It’s clear." Chewie and Daddy looked around, then gave them the all-clear. 

“Boy, it’s lucky you had these compartments,” said Luke. 

“Daddy uses them for smugglin’,” said Jaina, reaching up. 

“Yeah, but I never thought I’d be smugglin’ myself in ‘em,” Daddy said as he pulled Jaina out. “This is ridiculous,” he muttered. “Even if I could take off, I’d never get past that tractor beam."

“Leave that to me,” said Kenobi. 

“Damn fool, I knew you were gonna say that,” Daddy grumbled. Kenobi raised an eyebrow. 

“Who’s more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?” he asked. Daddy was going to respond, but Chewie cut him off. 

_ “Listen _ , _ ” _ said Chewie. Everyone turned towards the ramp entrance and did as he said. 

_ “The ship’s all yours,” _ said a stormtrooper.  _ “If the scanners pick up anything, report it immediately."  _

“Scanners?” asked Luke. Daddy scowled, making a split second decision. 

“Jaina, stay down." Footsteps came up the ramp, followed by heavy thuds. 

“Hey down there!” called Daddy. “Can you give us a hand with this?” Two more stormtroopers came up the ramp and were met by Chewie and Daddy’s blasters. “Okay, Jaina,” Daddy called. Jaina came around. 

“The hangar is clear,” said Kenobi. “You two- put on their armor." Daddy and Luke took the armor off the troopers and put it on. It was weird seeing Daddy in imperial getup. 

“How do I look?” he teased. Jaina giggled. 

“Funny,” she said. Daddy grinned. 

“Okay. You stay here, alright? Wait for us to come back." 

“No way!” Jaina stamped her foot. “I want to come!” She sounded like a baby, whining, but she was too big to be left behind. Luke, behind a helmet, interrupted them.

_ “Someone’s asking me why I’m not at my post,”  _ he said. Daddy frowned. 

“Go outside and pretend you can’t hear, like your transmitter’s broken,” he advised. Luke nodded and did so.

“More troopers might inspect the ship,” said Kenobi. “She’ll be safer with us." Daddy glared at him. 

“Fine. Here.” he grabbed a small blaster. “Only for emergencies, okay?”

“Okay." Jaina tucked the blaster in her belt, Daddy put on the stormtrooper’s helmet, and they followed their passengers down the ramp. They went across the hangar unnoticed and up some stairs. 

“This is the place,” said Ben. Daddy pulled out his blaster. The doors flew open and he fired a shot at an imperial officer. Chewie howled and sent the other flying across the room. They went inside. 

“You know, between his howling and your blasting everything in sight, it’s a wonder the whole station doesn’t know we’re here,” Luke complained. 

“Hey, junior, this ain’t my mess,” snapped Daddy. “I’m just tryin’ to get my daughter out of here alive. I’d prefer a fair fight to all this sneakin’ around anyway." R2D2 buzzed from over the control center. 

“We’ve found the computer outlet, sir,” said C3PO.

“Plug in,” ordered Kenobi. “He should be able to interpret the entire imperial network." R2D2 plugged into the console. 

“He says he’s found the main controls to the power beam that’s holding the ship here,” C3PO reported. “He’ll try to make the precise location appear on the monitor." Green and black blueprints flashed across the main viewscreen. “The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave."

“I don’t think you boys can help,” said Kenobi. “I must go alone." 

“Whatever you say,” said Daddy. “I’ve got more than I bargained for on this trip already." 

“I want to go with you,” said Luke. Kenobi shook his head. 

“Be patient, Luke. Stay and watch over the droids. They must be delivered safely, or other star systems will suffer the same fate as Alderaan. Your destiny lies along a different path than mine."

“Are you sure, mista?” asked Jaina. “Can you really do it alone?” Kenobi smiled. 

“I am." He opened the blast doors, looking contemplatively at Luke, then at Jaina. “The Force will be with you. Always." Luke watched him go and shut the door. 

_ “The old man’s gone mad _ , _ ” _ said Chewie. Daddy snorted. 

“Boy, you said it, Chewie. Where did ya dig up that old fossil?” he said. Luke glared. 

“Ben is a great man,” he declared. 

“Yeah, great at getting us into trouble,” Daddy said. 

“I didn’t hear you give any ideas!” 

“Well anything’s better than hangin’ around here with my nine-year-old waitin’ for him to pick us up!”

“Who do you think-” R2D2 beeped demandingly from the controls, cutting Luke off. “What is it?”

“I’m afraid I’m not quite sure, sir,” said C3PO. “He says ‘I’ve found her’ and keeps repeating ‘she’s here’." Luke walked over to the monitor. 

“Well- who- who has he found?” he asked.   
“Princess Leia." 

“The princess! She’s here?”

“Princess?” asked Jaina. Luke ignored her.

“Where? Where is she?” he demanded. 

“Princess?” asked Daddy. “What’s goin’ on?” R2D2 beeped. 

“Level five, detention block AA23,” C3PO translated. More beeping. “I’m afraid she’s scheduled to be terminated."

“What does terminated mean?” Jaina asked. 

“Oh, no! They’re gonna kill her!” said Luke. “We have to do something!” Daddy shook his head impatiently. 

“What’re ya talkin’ about?” he asked. 

“The droids belong to her, she’s the one in the message! We gotta help her!” Jaina didn’t remember anything about a princess or a message. 

“Now look, don’t get any funny ideas, the old man told us to wait right here,” said Daddy. 

“But he didn’t know she was here! Just find a way into that detention block-” he began talking to R2D2. Daddy sat down in one of the spinny chairs and pulled Jaina up onto his lap. 

“Daddy, doncha think we should help her?” she asked. 

“We’re not goin’ anywhere,” Daddy said.

“But they’re gonna execute her!” Luke cried. “A few minutes ago you said you didn’t want to wait here and be captured. Now all you wanna do is stay?”

“Marching into the detention area with my child is not what I had in mind,” Daddy said. 

“But they’re gonna kill her!” Luke said. 

“Better her than my little girl,” Daddy said. Jaina didn’t miss the way his arms curled tighter around her. “Listen, I feel bad for the princess, but there’s no way in hell I’m puttin’ my kid at risk of getting killed or orphaned." Luke looked at Jaina ashamedly. 

“You need to take care of your daughter, Han, I get that,” he relented. “But- I don’t know- something’s telling me that we need to go find her." He ran his hand through his hair frustratedly. 

“I think we should go help her, Daddy,” Jaina whispered. Daddy sighed. 

“I know. You’ve got a big heart, kiddo. But it’s not safe. I’d be a pretty lousy father if I put my kid in danger like that." 

“What if I stayed here, with the droids?” asked Jaina. She jumped down from Daddy’s lap. “Yeah! I’ll stay hidden and guard the Falcon and the droids until you get back!” Luke brightened up. 

“That’s a great idea,” he said, gesturing to Jaina. “C’mon, Han, I just know we have to do this-” 

“I said no." Daddy got up and turned his back on Luke. “You already got us in enough of a mess already. I’m stayin’ here,  _ with _ my daughter." Luke groaned, glancing at Jaina. She shrugged- when Daddy got like this there wasn’t much one could do to change his mind. Luke turned back to Daddy. 

“The princess- she’s someone’s daughter too,” he said. Daddy stiffened. “What if it was Jaina in that prison?” Jaina thought it was a bit mean for Luke to play her against Daddy, but she was a smuggler’s daughter and knew a good move when she saw one. She didn’t need to ask to know that Daddy would tear this battle station apart to get to her if he needed to. “And she’s rich!” Luke said. 

_ “I know where this is going,” _ Chewie growled. This was another good move. Daddy didn’t realize, but Jaina overheard him talking about a debt to Jabba the Hutt when she was supposed to be asleep. It was why Daddy had taken this job in the first place. 

“Rich?” Daddy said. Luke nodded enthusiastically. 

“Rich, powerful. Listen, if you were to rescue her, the reward would be-”

“What?” Jaina asked. 

“Well, more wealth than you could possibly imagine!” exclaimed Luke. 

“I dunno,” said Daddy, “I can imagine quite a bit."

“You’ll get it,” said Luke.

“I better,” said Daddy, mind changed and made up. 

“You will!”

“Alright, kid. You better be right about this. What’s your plan?” Jaina asked. Luke looked around the room for an idea. 

“Um… 3PO, hand me those binder’s there, will you?” the gold droid passed Luke a pair of handcuffs. He turned to Chewie. “Okay, now, I’m gonna put these on you-” 

_ “Absolutely not _ , _ ” _ Chewie roared. Luke took a wary step back. 

“Okay… Han you- you put those on." Han rolled his eyes and took the cuffs. 

“Don’t worry, Chewie, I think I know what he has in mind,” he said, snapping the cuffs around Chewies wrists. 

“Master Luke, sir, pardon me for asking, but what should R2 and I do if we’re discovered here?” 

“We’ll lock the door,” said Jaina. She thought that was obvious. “And hope they don’t have blasters." 

“That isn’t very reassuring, Miss Solo,” complained C3PO. 

“If it makes you feel better, I’ve got a blaster too,” Jaina offered.

“Let’s hope you won’t have to use it,” said Daddy. “I’ll be back soon. Stay safe." 

“You too. I love ya, Daddy." Daddy and Luke put their helmets on and went into the battle station. 

When they were out of sight, Jaina closed and locked the door. Her braid had found its way into her mouth again, and she sucked on it nervously. 

“I’m sure Master Luke, Captain Solo, and Chewbacca will be quite all right, Miss Solo,” said C3PO. 

“I know,” said Jaina. “Daddy can do anything, especially when he’s got Chewie. And me,” she added. “And you can just call me Jaina."

“All right, Miss Jaina,” said C3PO. Jaina hopped up into a chair. 

“Ya think we should hide the bodies?” she asked, looking at the dead officials on the floor. 

“Perhaps you’re right,” said C3PO. “It will give us something to do, at least." They worked together to drag the bodies into a closet while R2 continued to monitor the systems. “If I may, Miss Jaina,” said C3PO, “You seem to be rather young to be exposed to dead bodies." 

“Daddy’s a smuggler,” said Jaina, adjusting her grip on the last body’s boot. “I’m pretty used to it."

“I see,” said the droid. R2D2 whistled at them. 

“What’s he sayin’?” Jaina asked. R2D2 beeped again. C3PO leaned in. 

“He says that they have made it to the detention block,” he translated. Jaina ran over to the other droid. 

“What? Let me see!” The monitors flickered and security footage pulled up on the screen. “Is that the detention block?” Jaina asked. 

“I believe so, Miss,” said C3PO. “Oh, look- there they are!”

“I see them, I see them!” Jaina said, climbing up on the console. Daddy and Luke were talking to the imperial officers. The guy who looked like he was in charge walked over to the controls, then Chewie shoved him out of the way. Daddy and Luke shot the officers, and then they started shooting at the walls. The screen went black. 

“What happened, R2?” asked C3PO. The little droid beeped at them again. Jaina wished she knew binary. “Oh- I see,” he said. “It seems that they shot all the cameras,” he reported. 

“So other imps don’t see them,” Jaina realized. “I get it." She jumped down to the floor and flopped in a chair. 

“I suppose that is the best option,” agreed the droid. Jaina sighed, toying with the hilt of her blaster. 

“Ugh,” she groaned. “This is boring. Hey- you were with the Rebellion, right?” she asked. 

“Yes, Miss, for several years now,” said the droid. Jaina grinned. 

“What’s it like?” she asked. 

“Well, I-” alarms began to sound through the hangar.

_ “C3PO! C3PO!” _ Luke called through the comm. There was a lot of noise wherever he was. 

“Yes, sir?” asked C3PO. 

_ “Are there any other ways out of the cell bay? We’ve been cut off!” _ Luke cried. 

“Oh, no!” Jaina said. “R2D2, can you help them?” she asked the blue droid. He beeped something in response. 

“Oh- oh dear,” C3PO said. “All systems have been alerted to your presence."

_ “What was that? I didn’t copy!” _ Luke said. Jaina chewed at her hair anxiously. . 

“I said, all systems have been alerted to your presence, sir,” C3PO repeated. “The main entrance seems to be the only way in or out. All other information on your level is restricted!” A knock sounded on the door, making Jaina jump. 

_ “Open up there!” _ a male voice called. “ _ Open up in there!” _

“Oh, no,” said C3PO. “What are we going to do?” A banging started at the other side of the door. Jaina’s hands were shaking, she was worried about Daddy and Chewie.

“Uh...” she fumbled for her blaster and ran next to the closet. “Get in!” The droids filed inside. “Okay, now pretend that you were trapped." Jaina shut the door, turned off the commlink, and ran to hide behind the console. The door flew open and six stormtroopers came inside. C3PO began knocking against the closet door. A trooper opened it up. 

“They’re madmen!” the droid proclaimed. “They’re heading for the prison level! If you hurry, you might catch them!”

_ “Follow me,” _ ordered a trooper.  _ “You stand guard.” _ Jaina winced- they left a trooper behind. The comm was still crackling. 

“Come on,” C3PO ordered R2. The droids walked and rolled up to the trooper. “Oh- All the excitement has overrun the circuits of my counterpart here,” C3PO lied. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to- oh, dear, there he goes again." R2 shut the door, trapping the trooper with them. “I’d like to take him down to maintenance." Jaina gulped, feeling along the blaster for the trigger. She’d had a lot of practice, but she still wasn’t great like Daddy or Chewie. She set her blaster to stun.

_ “Alright,” _ said the trooper, buying the lie. He turned around open the door. There was no time to hesitate. Jaina jumped out from behind the console and fired. Her aim was true, and he fell to the ground. 

“My goodness,” said C3PO. Jaina ran to the body and dragged it with the others. 

“I’ve never shot anybody before,” she said, staring down at the white armor. “Let’s go." They ran across the hangar and hid behind some crates near the Falcon. 

“They’re not here,” said C3PO. Jaina dug her nails into her palms.

“D’ya think something happened to them?” she asked. “D’ya think they were captured- R2D2, see if they’ve been captured!” The droid plugged into the wall and whistled at them. 

“Thank goodness, they haven’t found them,” said C3PO. “Where could they be?” R2D2 beeped angrily. “Use the commlink?” Jaina gasped. 

“I turned it off when the stormtroopers came!” she said, pulling it from her pocket. She turned it back on. “Hello? Luke! Are you there? Daddy? Chewie, come in!”

_ “Jaina!” _ Luke yelled through the comm. 

“We’ve had some problems,” said C3PO. 

_ “C3PO, will you shut up and listen to me?” _ Luke barked.  _ “Shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level, will ya? Do you copy? Shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level! Shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level!” _

“Do it, R2D2!” Jaina hissed. The droid whirred around, working the systems. 

“Shut them all down, hurry!” said C3PO. After a moment, screaming came from over the comm. Jaina yanked it back from C3PO.

_ “Hey, you did it!” _ Luke screamed.  _ “We’re okay!” _

“Listen to them, they’re dying, R2!” C3PO lamented. “Curse my metal body! I wasn’t fast enough! It was my fault! My poor master!”

“No, they’re okay!” Jaina said. 

_ “We’re alright!” _ Luke agreed, laughing like a crazy person.  _ “You did great! Hey- open the pressure maintenance hatch on unit number- where are we?” _

_ “Three-two-six-three-eight-two-seven!” _ Daddy yelled. 

“Daddy!” Jaina said. “Are you okay?” 

_ “I’m fine, kiddo, now you stay put and we’ll be right there!” _ Daddy called.

“Okay,” said Jaina. “Copy that. Jaina out!”

“Thank goodness they’re okay,” said C3PO. “Now let us wait here until they return." Jaina slid down to the floor next to R2, to a spot where she had a clear view of the Falcon. She kept her blaster out. 

“I hope they get here soon,” she said. 

They did, in fact. It wasn’t very long according to Jaina’s wrist chrono before Luke came over the comm again. 

_ “C3PO, do you copy?” _

“Yes, sir,” said C3PO. 

_ “Are you safe?” _ Luke asked. 

“For the moment,” said C3PO. 

“We’re in the hangar across from the Falcon,” said Jaina, taking the comm. 

_ “We’re right above you,” _ said Luke.  _ “Stand by."  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love, especially in the Star Wars universe, is a much more powerful motivator than money. Therefore, instead of credits, Jaina's safety is top priority for Han. This being said, in the smuggler world, money=safety, so Han is still after his reward.


	4. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jaina meets a princess and they teach each other a thing or two.

The line stayed dead too long for Jaina’s liking. 

“Where are they?” she muttered. A strange sound that was like a blaster but not like one at all echoed from across the hangar. Jaina peeked up over the box. It was the wizard, with his lightsaber out. He was fighting a tall, terrifying, black figure who had a red one. 

“Look!” she whispered. 

“Oh dear,” murmured C3PO. The troopers who were standing guard over the ship ran towards the fight. 

“Let’s go!” said Jaina, dragging C3PO to the ship. When they were halfway across the hangar, footsteps thudded from behind them. Luke, Chewie, Daddy, and a pretty lady with brown hair ran up to them. “Daddy!” Jaina ran into her father’s arms. 

“Hey, kid, you alright?” he asked. Jaina nodded. 

“You smell like shavit,” she said. Daddy laughed. 

“Yeah, I know, sweetheart. Get to the ship, now,” he said. Jaina frowned.

“But what about Ben Kenobi?” she asked, pointing. Luke froze. 

“Ben?” He took a few steps over to the fight. Kenobi looked over at them, but the dark figure remained focused on his opponent. Jaina started as Kenobi raised his lightsaber to his face- and let the dark figure cut him down. “No!” Luke screamed. The stormtroopers heard him, and turned their blasters on them.

“Get to the ship, now!” Daddy ordered, returning fire. Jaina ran up the ramp after the droids. Han and the lady screamed at Luke to follow them. 

_ “Help me start the ship,” _ Chewie growled. Jaina ran to join him in the cockpit and helped Chewie begin the launch sequence. Daddy ran to join him as the ramp slammed shut. 

“I hope that old man got the tractor beam out of commission, or this is gonna be a real short trip,” he said, fingers flying across the dashboard. “Okay, hit it!” The Falcon lurched backwards as they reversed out of the hangar. Daddy swung the ship around and they sped away from the space station. 

“Daddy?” asked Jaina. “Who was the man who killed the wizard?” 

“I dunno, sweetheart,” Daddy said. “I just hope he doesn’t become a problem for us. We’re dropping those two and their droids off, getting our money, and then we’re outta this mess." 

_ “I’m not so sure _ , _ ” _ rumbled Chewie. 

“I like Luke,” said Jaina. “I hope he’ll be okay." The radar flashed. “There’s fighters up ahead."

“We’re comin’ up on their sentry ships,” said Daddy. “Chewie, angle the deflector shields while I charge up the main guns. Jaina, listen to Chewie. Help him, yeah?”

“Yes Daddy." He ran out of the cockpit and Jaina took his place. The lady came inside to join them as Jaina settled the earpiece on her head. “Hi,” she said. 

“Hello,” said the woman. She looked confused. “Who are you?” 

“Jaina. Are you Princess Leia?” Jaina asked. The lady nodded. 

“Are you allowed-” Jaina held a hand up as her comm beeped. 

_ “You in, Luke?” _ Daddy asked.

_ “Yeah." _

_ “Jaina?” _

“Copy!”

_ “Okay, stay sharp,” _ Daddy ordered. Four TIEs came up fast to their position. 

“Here they come!” said Princess Leia. They took a hit and the lights flashed. The TIEs were fast, too fast. 

_ Boost the shields _ , Chewie ordered. Jaina did so quickly. It was something she and Daddy practiced a lot. 

_ “They’re coming in too fast!” _ said Luke’s voice. Another hit landed and warning lights lit up. 

“We’ve lost the lateral controls!” Jaina said. 

_ “Don’t worry, she’ll hold together,” _ said Daddy. An explosion showed up to Jaina’s left, and Daddy laughed triumphantly over the comms. 

“Great shot, Daddy!” Jaina said. Another explosion on the right, this time. 

_ “Got him! I got him!” _ Luke cried. 

_ “Great, kid!” _ said Daddy.  _ “Don’t get cocky!” _

“There’s still two more of them out there!” Leia said. Even though two of the TIEs were gone, there were still two more, and they were fast. Not having lateral controls meant the Falcon was sticky and maneuvering was less easy. Jaina eased up the shields some more to cover their weak spots. 

_ “Ha!” _ Luke had gotten the third ship. Chewie brought the ship around, and then the fourth was gone in a bright ball of light. _ “That’s it! We did it!” _ Luke cried. Jaina yanked off her earpiece. 

“We did it!” said Leia. Jaina and Chewie welcomed her into their hug. Daddy and Luke came to join them in the cockpit. 

“Great job, kiddo,” said Daddy, ruffling Jaina’s hair. “I’m proud of you. Not a bad bit of rescuing, huh?” he said. “You know, sometimes you amaze me more than I amaze me." Leia rolled her eyes. 

“That doesn’t sound too hard,” she said. “They let us go. It’s the only explanation for the ease of our escape." 

“That wasn’t easy,” said Jaina. “We almost died. A lot." Leia gave her a tight smile. 

“They’re tracking us,” she said.

“Not this ship, sister,” Daddy said. 

“There’s no way they could track the Falcon,” Jaina insisted. She backed Daddy and the Falcon up on instinct, but she wasn’t so sure Leia was wrong. 

“Well, they are,” said Leia. “And what’s with you letting a child fly your ship? What kind of smuggler keeps a little girl on board anyway?” she asked. Jaina matched Daddy’s glare. 

“Her father, that’s who,” he said. Leia blinked, clearly surprised. Jaina didn’t know why, she looked a lot like Daddy. 

“And I’m not a little girl,” she said, crossing her arms. “I just helped fly us out of here and save your butt." Leia looked offended. 

“My apologies,” she said to Daddy. “I didn’t know smugglers such as yourself were the parental type." 

“Daddy’s an awesome parent-al,” Jaina insisted. “And he just helped save ya. You could at least say thank you." She was satisfied to see Leia close her mouth against a retort. 

“I may be a smuggler, Your Highness, but at least I taught my kid manners,” said Daddy, smirking at Leia triumphantly. 

“Thank you,” Leia relented. She looked very tired, very worried, very sad. “At least the information in R2 is still intact,” she sighed.

“What’s so important? What’s he carryin’?” Daddy asked. Leia rolled her eyes. 

“The technical readouts of that battle station,” she said. “I only hope that when the data is analyzed, a weakness can be found. It’s not over yet."

“It is for us, sister,” Daddy said. “Look, I ain’t in this for your revolution and I’m not in it for you, Princess. I expect to be well paid. I’m in it for the money."

“You needn’t worry about your reward,” Leia said. “If money is all that you love, then that’s what you’ll receive,” she snarked, standing up. 

“Hey!” said Daddy, rising to stand with her. “It’s pretty clear that that ain’t true, Your Worshipfulness. I gotta kid to take care of, that’s all I care about." Leia blushed, and looked at Jaina. Jaina raised an eyebrow, something she had learned how to do a few weeks ago. 

“Oh- yes,” she said. She seemed distracted, dazed. “I shouldn’t have- never mind. You’ll get your money." She stalked out of the cockpit, passing Luke on the way in. “Your friend is quite the mercenary,” she whispered. Jaina looked at Daddy, but he wasn’t paying attention. “It’s a wonder he can care about anybody."

“I care,” Luke said. Leia smiled and left. Jaina stood up and got on Daddy’s lap so Luke could have her seat. “So, what do you think of her?” he asked them. 

“I’m tryin’ not to, kid,” said Han. 

“I think she’s sad,” Jaina said, looking at where she had disappeared to. “I think she might be nice when she’s happy."

“You’re a good kid, sweetheart,” said Han. “But I dunno. Still, she’s got a lotta spirit. I dunno, whaddya think?” he asked Luke. “Ya think a princess and a guy like me-”

“Maybe,” insisted Jaina. “If you’re nice to her." Daddy and Luke laughed. “I’m gonna go talk to her,” Jaina declared. She hopped down to the floor and walked over to the dejarik board. Leia was staring blankly at the empty table. 

“You okay?” Jaina asked. Leia looked up. 

“I’m alive,” she said dryly. “Listen, I’m sorry for how I behaved back there. It wasn’t fair of me to say those things about your father. I’m just- not myself. Not right now,” she said. Jaina came and sat down across from her. Leia’s eyes were a bit wet. 

“Wanna talk about it?” Jaina asked. Leia shook her head. 

“I don’t want to trouble you. Besides, I shouldn’t be telling an eight-year-old those things anyway-”

“Nine and a half,” Jaina corrected. “And I just helped break ya out of jail today." She stopped herself, realizing: “I guess that’s why, ain’t it? You were in jail?” Leia nodded. 

“Yes. And Alderaan…” Jaina gasped. 

“Is that where you’re from?” Leia nodded again and angrily swiped at a tear. Jaina reached over and squeezed her hand. “I’m real sorry, Leia." 

“Me too,” Leia said. She gave herself a little shake. “Enough about my problems. What about you, where are you from?”

“Nowhere, really,” said Jaina. “I mean, Daddy’s from Corellia, but I’ve never been there. I’ve lived on the Falcon my whole life." 

“Oh. I see,” said Leia. “So, how did you meet Luke?” 

“He and the wizard- Ben Kenobi- hired us to take them to- to Alderaan,” she explained. “Luke called you ‘the girl from the message’, that must be why.” Leia nodded, confirming this. The mention of Alderaan made Leia sad again, so Jaina tried to change the subject. “I really like your hair,” she said, pointing to the swirls on either side of Leia’s pale face. 

“Oh- thank you,” said Leia, blushing a little.

“Daddy can do braids, but nothing really fancy,” said Jaina, tugging at the end of her braid. It was really messy, thanks to their time running from imps that day. “Maybe you can teach me how?” Leia smiled softly. 

“I’d like that,” she said. “I can fix yours right now, if you like,” she offered. Jaina beamed. 

“I'll get my brush." Jaina ran to her room and grabbed her brush from the fresher, then returned and sat cross legged in front of Leia. Leia began working out the braid. 

“Your hair is really pretty too,” she said. Jaina shrugged. 

“Daddy says it is. When I’m not chewin’ on it,” she said. Leia laughed quietly. 

“I did that too when I was little,” she said. The brush snagged on a tangle, pulling at Jaina’s scalp. “Sorry." 

“It’s okay,” said Jaina. Leia’s fingers were a lot smaller than Daddy’s, and Jaina relaxed into the soothing motions of whatever braid Leia was doing. Leia was really quick, too. Jaina assumed she had a lot of practice. 

“There,” Leia said. “All done." Jaina got up and ran to the mirror. Leia had separated her hair into six braids that joined into three twisted buns that ran down the center of her head. She was really good. Daddy did good braids, but they were plain. These were a lot fancier than anything Jaina had before. “What do you think?” Leia asked. Jaina beamed. 

“I love ‘em! Thank you!” she squealed giving Leia a hug. Leia was a lot shorter than Daddy and Chewie, Jaina came up to about her shoulder. 

“What’s goin’ on here?” Daddy asked, walking into the room with Luke. 

“Leia fixed my hair for me!” Jaina said, spinning around to show him. “See? I told you she was nice,” she whispered. Daddy grinned. 

“You look great, kiddo,” he said. “Hey Princess, if the rebellion thing doesn’t work you could make good money doin’ hair. Better than anythin’ I can do." 

“It was the least I could do,” Leia said. “But the Rebellion will ‘work out’. Speaking of, when will we arrive?” Daddy checked the chrono.

“0300 hours, give or take,” he said. “Damn, I didn’t realize it was so late. Jaina, ya shoulda been in bed hours ago." Hearing the words made Jaina tired again. She usually went to bed a few hours before they got to the battle station, they had spent a few hours there, and another running from the imps… it was very late or very early. 

“I’m not tired,” she insisted. A yawn immediately contradicted her. 

“And I’m the Emperor,” Daddy said, picking her up. “C’mon. Bedtime." 

“But Leia just did my hair-” Jaina tried. 

“I’ll do it again when you wake up,” Leia offered. Jaina wasn’t too tired to miss Daddy mouthing ‘thank you’ to her. 

“See? You’re all covered. Let’s go,” he said. Jaina was asleep before they got to her room. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leia just lost her family and her entire planet, and we know she had a temper, so I dialed up her snippiness a bit to reflect that. I also wanted to introduce a different side to Jaina and give her a touch of that Solo pride and attitude, which, of course, Leia will eventually come to find endearing, making them fast friends. I also am playing into the "young child dispenses wisdom" trope because that's an old favorite of mine.


	5. Yavin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Luke and Jaina want to fight and Han has a good reason not to.

“Jaina, sweetheart, we’re here. Time to wake up." Jaina blinked fuzziness out of her eyes. Daddy was gently shaking her shoulder. “There she is,” he chucked. Jaina yawned.

“What time is it?” she mumbled.

“The middle of the mornin’. We’re just about to land,” he said. “C’mon- why don’t ya put on some fresh clothes and come get some food in you, yeah?” Jaina nodded.

“M’kay." Daddy left to go check on something, leaving Jaina to stumble out of bed. Her clothes were getting gross, so she stripped them off and threw on some clean pants and a shirt under her jacket. Her hair was still pretty, even after sleeping on it, so she left it alone. She went to join the others in the cockpit. Luke and Leia were still wearing their old clothes. Neither of them looked like they had slept. 

_ “Look who's up _ ,” Chewie teased. Jaina smiled sleepily. Luke was in her usual seat, so she sat on Daddy’s lap. 

“Where are we?” she asked, looking out across the green forests. 

“Yavin-4,” said Leia. “The base." Luke looked around, mystified. 

“I didn’t know there was this much green in the whole galaxy,” he whispered. Leia squeezed his arm as she reached around for the commset. 

“I need to contact the base to let them know I’m in this ship,” she said. Daddy nodded, giving her permission. Leia put on a headset. “This is Leia Organa- yes, I’m fine. Listen, I have data plans for the Empire’s new weapon. I’m approaching the base now, onboard a Corellian freighter. Yes. Over and out." 

Daddy followed the signals of the rebel soldiers to the ground. They were met with a land transport outside of the base. 

“Stick close,” he said to Jaina. “There’s gonna be a lot of action in here. I don’t wanna get separated." Jaina nodded and hopped up onto the transport between him and Leia. They rolled across the concrete, towards a big, stone building. 

“Woah…” Luke looks as enchanted as she felt. Even Daddy looked a little impressed. 

The hanger was much darker than outside, and a lot less peaceful. There were small fighters packed into every inch possible. Men and women in orange flight suits and mechanic’s clothing ran around, feuling and fixing. The transports came to a stop and a man with gray hair came to meet them. 

“You’re safe,” he said, embracing Leia. “When we heard about Alderaan, we feared the worst." 

“We have no time for sorrows, Commander,” said Leia as they began to walk off. “We must use the information in this R2 unit to plan the attack. It’s our only hope." Jaina grabbed Daddy’s hand and hurried after them. Eventually they came to some kind of planning room. Officers took R2 off to look at the plans, Leia went along with them. Chewie went off to collect supplies and their reward for saving Leia. Jaina waited in the back with Daddy and Luke. 

“I’m gonna help fight,” Luke said. “They need all the pilots they can get." Daddy sighed. 

“Your funeral, kid." Luke rolled his eyes and went to join Leia. 

“We’re leavin’?” Jaina asked. “But what about Leia?” 

“If she wants to come with us, she can,” he said. “Jaina-” he knelt down, and Jaina knew it was time for a serious talk. “That battle station is gonna be here soon. These folks are gonna try and destroy it, but if they can’t, this whole planet is gonna blow. That means it ain’t safe for us here, so we’re gonna go before that happens."

“But they need help- Daddy, you’re the best pilot in the galaxy. I bet you could blow that thing no problem!”

“It ain’t a risk I can take, Jaina,” Daddy said sternly, in a tone that implied the end of the conversation. Jaina crossed her arms and pouted as lots of the men in orange jumpsuits filed into the room and sat down. When they were all seated, an older officer named General Dodonna began to talk to them.

“We have formatted an attack plan against the Death Star,” he said. “The battle station is heavily shielded and carries a firepower greater than half the starfleet. It’s defenses are designed around a direct, large-scale assault. A small, one-man fighter should be able to penetrate the outer defense." 

“Pardon me for asking sir, but what good are snub fighters going to be against that?” asked a pilot. 

“The Empire doesn’t consider a small, one-man fighter to be any threat, or they’d have a tighter defense. An analysis of the plans provided by Princess Leia has demonstrated a weakness in the battle station. The approach will not be easy. You’re required to maneuver straight down this trench and skim the surface to this point. The target area is only two meters wide. It’s a small thermal exhaust port right below the main port. The shaft leads directly to the reactor system. A precise hit should start a chain reaction which should destroy the station. Only a precise hit will set up a chain reaction. The shaft is ray-shielded, so you’ll have to use proton torpedoes." 

“That’s impossible, even for a computer,” said the pilot sitting next to Luke. 

“It’s not impossible, I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home,” said Luke. “They’re not much bigger than two meters."

“Then man your ships,” said Dodonna. “And may the Force be with you." Daddy put a hand on Jaina’s shoulder. 

“C’mon,” he said. “Time to get outta here." He led Jaina out of the room before the pilots left. Luke twisted around in his seat as they went. Jaina looked back at him sadly. 

“I’m sorry,” she mouthed. They went back to the Falcon, where Chewie had started loading boxes. Jaina dragged herself over to them and began to help load them on. Daddy looked at her and set down his crate.

“Hey, what’s wrong, kiddo?” Daddy asked. Jaina sighed. 

“Nothing." Daddy frowned.

“Hey, c’mon kiddo. Don’t do that. Tell me what’s up,” he said, rubbing her shoulders. Jaina groaned. 

“Why won’t ya stay and help?” she asked. “Dontcha hate the Empire?” Daddy carded through his hair. 

“Of course I do, sweetheart. But I love you more than I hate them. My priority is always gonna be keepin’ us safe, okay?”

“What about Leia?” asked Jaina. “Or Luke? They’re fightin’, and it isn’t any safer for them. Why aren’t they runnin’?”

“They’re idiots,” said Daddy. “Brave idiots, but still idiots. For them- kriff, how do I explain this- for them, fightin’ with the Rebellion and endin’ the Empire is worth riskin’ their lives."

“But it’s not worth riskin’ yours?” Jaina asked. Daddy shook his head. 

“I dunno about that, kiddo. But I sure as hell know it’s not worth riskin’ you. C’mon, let’s finish up and get outta here." Jaina sighed and kept moving boxes. She brought one to the storeroom. When she came out, Luke was there, in a pilot uniform. 

“So, you got your reward and you’re just leaving, then?” he asked.   
“That’s right, yeah,” Daddy said. “I’ve gotta kid to look after and some old debts I gotta pay off with this stuff. And even if I didn’t, ya don’t think I’d be fool enough to stick around here, do ya?” Jaina pretended to be doing something with a box so she could listen in. “Why dontcha come with us?” Daddy asked. “You’re pretty good in a fight, we could use ya. Plus, Jaina likes ya a lot, she’d love to have ya on board."

“Come on,” said Luke frustratedly, “Why don’t you take a look around? You know what’s about to happen, what they’re up against. They could use a good pilot like you. You’re turning your back on them! I heard- a lotta these people have kids here too, you don’t see them running off!”

“What good’s a reward if you ain’t around to use it? Besides, attackin’ that battle station ain’t my idea of courage. It’s more like suicide." Luke nodded. He was doing a pretty good job hiding how upset he was. 

“All right. Take care of yourself, Han. You too, Jaina. Chewie." Jaina blushed, realizing he knew she was listening. 

“Hey, Luke!” Jaina ran after him. Luke stopped. “I tried to get him to stay,” she said. Luke nodded. 

“I know. But- he’s gotta take care of you, right? Be a good father. We’ll be alright Jaina. It was really nice to know you,” he said. Jaina smiled. 

“May the Force be with you,” she said. Luke nodded and ran off. Jaina went back to the ship. 

_ “Cub, are you absolutely sure this is the right choice? _ ” Chewie growled. 

“What’re you lookin’ at,” Daddy snapped. “I know what I’m doin’. C’mon, that’s all of it. Let’s get goin’- Jaina, c’mon." Jaina reluctantly went into the ship. It was the easiest takeoff they’d had the last few days. Several fighters were taking off with them, to go fight the Death Star. 

“Jaina, plug in the coordinates for Tatooine,” Daddy said. Jaina sighed and began to punch in the numbers. “Chewie, keep us away from the fightin’." 

“They need us,” Jaina muttered. “Why aren’t we helpin’?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to further cement the idea that Jaina's safety is Han's #1 priority. Also, as a nine year old Jaina doesn't fully understand the risks of fighting, whereas Han does. Because this is from Jaina's POV, Han came out a little "bad cop" in this chapter, but he's really just "protective dad".


	6. Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Luke, Leia, and the rebels have their moment of truth against the Death Star and Jaina finds new ways of talking her father into things.

“I have a really bad feeling about this,” Jaina said. The Death Star had just shown up on the radar. Rebel pilots too. Luke was up there. Leia was down on Yavin-4. Daddy turned over his shoulder to look at her. 

“What? D’ya see something?” Jaina shook her head. 

“No. Well, I see the Death Star and the rebels, but they’re way over there. We’re… safe,” she said, a little bitterly. “I have a bad feeling about leavin’. I wish I was with them,” Jaina persisted. “Even if I couldn’t help." Daddy sighed. A small part of Jaina’s mind pointed out that she was probably pushing him a bit too far today.

“I know. You’ve said so,” he muttered. 

“But why don’t you listen?” Jaina demanded. 

“I did listen, Jaina,” Daddy sniped. He took a breath. “Look. I like Luke, and the princess is okay. I don’t like that they’re in danger any more than you. But they don’t have a daughter to take care of, kiddo. That’s why they can stay and I can’t." Jaina harrumphed and crossed her arms. 

“I don’t get it,” she complained. “Why does my life matter so much more than all of theirs? What makes me so special?” 

“You have a dad who loves you and can take care of you, that’s what,” Daddy answered. “And if Luke and Leia’s folks were still around, they’d be dragging them off that planet just like this,” said Daddy. “It’s what good parents do. Even when our kids don’t like it, we do everythin’ we can to keep them safe."

“Even if it means lettin’ the Empire win?” Jaina asked. Daddy frowned, and didn’t answer. Jaina sighed. “Coordinates are almost out,” she muttered. 

“Thanks, kiddo." 

“Yeah. No problem." Jaina slumped in her seat. She wanted to chew on her hair, but the way Leia had done it kept it out of reach. A prickling sensation crept down the back of her neck. She rubbed at it harshly. 

“Tell ya what,” said Daddy. “We gotta stop at Tatooine, but after that, why don’t we go somewhere nice? Stay in one place awhile." 

_ “It’s been a while since I was home,”  _ offered Chewie. Daddy grinned. 

“How ‘bout that, huh?” he said, reaching back and giving Jaina’s leg a little shake. “Kashyyyk? We’ll go to see Malla and Lumpy, you can practice climbing trees…”

“Yeah,” said Jaina, forcing a smile. “Sounds great." She crossed her arms over her stomach, which was starting to feel gross. She wondered if she ate something bad, but the only thing she had eaten that day was a breakfast bar, the kind Daddy kept on the Falcon. 

_ “Are you alright, little one?” _ asked Chewie. Jaina nodded, thinking of Luke, in a tiny little ship, and Leia, on a planet about to blow up.

“Uh-huh. I’m just gonna miss ‘em is all,” she said. 

_ “I know. I will miss them too”,  _ Chewie said. “ _ But I believe that they will be fine."  _ Jaina shrugged. 

“I guess…” she leaned back against her seat and closed her eyes. Her head was starting to hurt now too. She groaned and rubbed at her eyes until colorful splotches filled the space behind her eyelids. 

_ Trust in the Force,  _ said a voice in the black. Jaina wrenched her eyes open. She hadn’t made that voice, she had heard it. It wasn’t Daddy and it definitely wasn’t Chewie. In fact, it sounded like- 

“Mista Kenobi?” she winced after realizing she had talked out loud. Daddy turned around. 

“Huh?” 

“Nothin’,” she said. It must have been- Kenobi was dead, she had seen it happen. But that didn’t explain why she could hear him. She closed her eyes again, trying to see if she could hone in on the voice. 

_ Listen to the Force, young one,  _ said a voice, and yes, it was Kenobi.  _ It will guide you.  _

_ What’s it sayin’?  _ Jaina asked, screwing up her face as she focused everything into trying to talk with Kenobi. 

_ It is with you today, child,  _ he said.  _ Trust your instincts. You know what to do.  _ So Jaina was right- they did need to turn back. The navicomputer beeped and gave them the coordinates for Tatooine. 

“Approachin’ the jump point now,” Daddy said. 

“Wait!” Jaina cried. She jumped out of her seat and grabbed his arm. Daddy looked at her sternly. 

“Jaina,” he warned. “I know you don’t wanna go, but it ain’t up to you. I need ya to listen, okay? Go buckle up, right now." Jaina took a deep breath. 

“Sorry, Daddy, but we gotta stay,” she said. “They need us, Daddy. I can feel it in the Force, dontcha see? If we go, somethin’ real bad’s gonna happen!” Her voice got uncomfortably shrill. 

“The Force ain’t real, Jaina,” Daddy said. 

“How do you know?” Jaina asked. 

“Because- ‘cause-” Daddly spluttered for a moment, trying to come up with something. He didn’t. 

“See? Ya can’t know that it ain’t real!” she said triumphantly. Daddy crossed his arms. 

“Alright, then, how d’ya know that it is real?” he asked. “Why should I listen to the Force?”

“The wizard just told me to turn back,” Jaina explained. “I could hear him, he said to trust my instincts, and they’re tellin’ me to go help the rebels." 

“Jaina, the old man’s dead,” Daddy said, exasperated. “He couldn’t’ve talked to ya." 

“But he did,” Jaina insisted. “He talked to me, he used the Force and told me to go back and fight!” She was growing a little hysterical, and definitely acting immature. “Please, Daddy, ya hafta believe me!” 

_ “Look at her, Cub,”  _ intoned Chewie. “ _ She is not lying."  _ Jaina guessed she looked kind of bad. Tears were pricking at her eyes, her nails were buried in her palms. Daddy gave her a once over, looking her up and down. He pursed his lips.

“Are you absolutely sure that we should go back there?” he asked seriously. 

“Yes,” Jaina insisted. “One hundred percent." Daddy sighed, but Jaina knew she had won. Her shoulders relaxed, even though the hardest part hadn’t happened yet. She turned around and hopped back in her seat. 

“I hope I don’t regret this,” Daddy muttered. “Alright. Chewie, bring us around. Jaina-” Jaina looked up from the radar she was studying- “get on the commlinks, see if you can get in contact with ‘em” Jaina beamed and shot out of her seat. 

“Thank you, Daddy!” she squealed. Daddy ran off to the guns. She climbed up on her seat to reach the right controls and yanked a headset on. “What’s the frequency…” she murmured. The Falcon lurched as Chewie sped up, racing around the planet. 

_ Listen to the Force,  _ said Kenobi. She remembered watching him train Luke, before they had gotten sucked into the Death Star. He had been kind and patient with Luke, even when he had complained about not being able to see. “Oh!” Jaina shut her eyes and reached out. Her fingers moved over the buttons, it felt random, but if she was right… Static crackled over the comm, then-

_ “Fighters, coming in point three!” _ Jaina didn’t know who it was, but he was definitely a rebel pilot. She switched to the inter-ship frequency. 

“I’ve got on their comm, Daddy,” she reported into her headset. 

_ “Copy that,” _ Daddy said.  _ “Here we are…” _ As they rounded Yavin, the Death Star came into view. It was almost as big as Yavin-4, and even more terrifying than when Jaina had been on it. Rebel fighters and TIEs raced across the vast gray surface, firing everything they had at each other. Jaina sat down in Daddy’s seat. 

_ “Watch the monitors,”  _ Chewie directed. 

“On it." Chewie took them in fast towards a trench. Three fighters flew in a v formation. Three TIEs were right behind them, and gaining fast. 

“That’s Luke- he’s the leader, Red 5!” Jaina said. 

_ “Yeah. He’s goin’ in to make the shot,” _ said Daddy. A TIE landed a hit on one of his wingmen. 

_ “I’m hit,” _ said the pilot.  _ “I can’t stay with you!”  _

_ “Get clear, Wedge, you can’t do any more good back there, _ ” said Luke. The pilot- Wedge- apologized and pulled out. The TIEs kept on Luke and his other wingman. 

_ “Hurry, Luke, they’re coming in fast, we can’t hold them!” _ said the other pilot. Jaina frowned. 

“They need help,” she said. “Can we get closer?” 

_ “I’ll try,”  _ said Chewie, bringing them down lower. 

_ “R2, try and increase the power!” _ Luke ordered. 

_ “Hurry up, Luke! Wait- wait-” _ the middle TIE, one with funny wings, fired, and landed a direct hit on the other wingman. The ship exploded into stardust. 

“Oh, no…” Jaina murmured. The TIEs were following Luke hot and fast. “Daddy-”

_ “I know, I know,” _ Daddy said.  _ “Chewie, get us down there!”  _ Jaina bit back a scream as Chewie dove towards the surface, skimming just above the trench. 

_ “His computer’s off,” _ said someone from the rebel frequency. His voice was more staticky, he was probably on the ground.  _ “Luke, you’ve switched off your targeting computer. What’s wrong?” _

_ “Nothing. I’m all right,” _ said Luke. He wasn’t, though. The lead TIE fired at him. He missed, but it was close. Then, Jaina saw one blast hit R2D2. The droid screamed and fizzled out.  _ “I lost R2!” _ Jaina gulped. 

“C’mon, Luke…” The TIEs were right behind him. They had a clear shot, you’d have to be blind to miss it. “Daddy, now!” 

_ “On it!” _ Daddy said. Jaina felt him fire, taking out one of the wingmen.  _ “Ha!” _ Jaina whooped happily, forgetting that the comm was on. The other TIE didn’t risk sitting around. In his effort to pull out, he knocked into the leader then crashed into the wall. The leader spun away haphazardly. 

“You’re all clear, Luke!” Jaina screamed into the comm. “Blow this thing!” Luke fired, sending two red blasts down the trench and into the exhaust port. “He did it!” Jaina said. “Chewie- we’d better get outta here!” Chewie rumbled his agreement and pulled them away from the Death Star. Jaina craned her neck to see Luke follow them. A moment later, she closed her eyes against a blinding light as the Death Star exploded. 

_ “Great shot kid, that was one in a million!” _ Daddy yelled into the comm. Chewie turned them towards Yavin-4 and they began their return, flanked by Luke and the remaining rebel pilots. There were so few, Jaina noticed. She wondered how many people had died to destroy the Death Star. 

Daddy ran into the cockpit, and Jaina got up to let him have his seat back. He was grinning wildly. 

“You were right, kiddo,” he said, pulling Jaina into a hug. “I’m glad I listened to you." Jaina grinned. 

“I told ya so,” she laughed. 

“Yeah, Yeah,” said Daddy. “Brag about it when we’re on the ground." Jaina nodded and closed her eyes for the trip down. 

_ Remember, the Force will be with you. Always.  _

“Thanks, Kenobi,” she whispered. 

Their landing was much more chaotic this time. Rebels swarmed out to meet them- everyone was laughing, screaming, crying. Jaina grabbed Daddy’s vest so they wouldn’t get separated as they made their way through the crowds.

“There’s Luke!” Jaina screamed, pointing. She dragged Daddy and Chewie to where Luke’s ship was. He was laughing and hugging Leia. “Hey! Hey!” she called them. Luke ran up and swung her into a big hug, then pulled Daddy in too. 

“I knew you’d come back, I just knew it!” he said. Luke passed Jaina to Leia, who lowered her to the ground to hug her. 

“Yeah, well, I couldn’t let you get all the credit and take all the reward!” Daddy said. Leia laughed and went to hug him.

“Hey, I knew there was more to you than money,” she teased. Some machine was lowering R2D2 to the ground. 

“Oh, no,” Jaina said. 

“Oh, my,” fretted C3PO. “R2, can you hear me? Say something! You can repair him, can’t you?” he asked a mechanic. 

“We’ll get working on him right away,” the mechanic said. 

“You must repair him- sir, if any of my circuits or gears will help, I’ll gladly donate them,” he offered Luke. Luke shook his head. 

“He’ll be alright,” he told the droid. “Although he’s smelled better." Jain frowned. 

“That’s you,” she said. Luke blinked at her confused. “All of ya. Ya jumped into a garbage masher,” she reminded them. Leia wrinkled her nose and looked down at her dress. The white fabric was filthy. 

“Ugh. You’re right. I need a fresher,” she said. 

“We all do,” said Daddy. “You too, Jaina- when was the last time ya took a bath?” Jaina shrugged. 

“I definitely took one before we got to Tatooine…” Dad sighed. 

“Kiddo, that was over a week ago,” he said. 

“Says the man who rolled around in garbage,” Jaina retorted. Luke and Leia laughed at them.

“Come on, we can use the one in my quarters,” said Leia. 

“Sounds good to me,” said Luke. Jaina jumped up on his back, and they walked out of the hangar. “I’m really glad you came back,” he said. “We couldn’t have done it without you." 

“Thank Jaina,” said Daddy. “She managed to convince me to turn around." Leia laughed. 

“Well, it’s good to know you listen to someone,” she said. Jaina rested her chin on Luke’s shoulder. 

“I just knew we needed to help,” she said. “This is where we need to be." Daddy grinned and ruffled her hair. 

“So you’re staying?” Luke asked. Jaina looked at Daddy- they hadn’t talked about it. Jaina wanted to stay, more than anything, but she didn’t know how Daddy felt about it. 

“Can we, Daddy?” she pleaded. 

“You’re going to have to stay for a few days, anyway,” said Leia. “There’s going to be a medal ceremony for you, and it would be stupid if you weren’t here for it…”

“We’re surrounded by fighters, Han,” said Luke. “I don’t think there’s a safer place in the galaxy for Jaina." 

“Well, I guess we can stay for a while…” he said. “But I don’t know how long. I’ve still got a debt to pay off…” Jaina would take what she could get. 

“Thank you Daddy!” she said. “Hey- does this mean I get to learn how to pilot a fighter?” Daddy shook his head at her, laughing. 

“Don’t push it, kiddo." Jaina stuck out her tongue as Luke and Leia laughed along with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The climax you all have been waiting for! I had a lot of fun writing Han's struggle with doing the right thing, because from a parent's perspective the right thing would be keeping his daughter safe, yet there is a grander scheme. I'm excited to write for of him balancing parenthood with the Rebellion. It's also interesting writing Jaina because she's nine, and as such really sees things as black and white (from a certain point of view). A big part of Star Wars is discovering the shades of gray, which might be part of Jaina's journey as she grows up.


	7. New Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the future begins to look a little brighter, and Jaina's family gets a little bigger.

“Okay, done,” said Leia. Jaina looked at her hair in the mirror. Leia had done the top of her hair into a braided circlet ending in three loops that hung over the loose bottom part of her hair. 

“Thanks!” said Jaina, jumping down from the chair. Hair finished, Jaina padded over to the corner of Leia’s bedroom and grabbed her belt off the table. 

“Are you sure you want to wear that?” Leia asked, giving the belt a skeptical look. Jaina nodded resolutely as she did the buckle. 

“It’s what Daddy and Luke are gonna wear,” she said. Leia raised her eyebrows. 

“Alright,” she said, operating the clasp of a big silver necklace with practiced ease. It went very well with her dress, a long sleeveless gown made of a light flowy fabric, complete with a matching cape. Jaina’s outfit didn’t match quite as well as hers. She was wearing her only dress. It was blue like her eyes with long sleeves and fell just past her knees. Leia had helped her find a gray pair of tights without any holes to wear with it, but Jaina didn’t have any nice shoes, so Daddy had just cleaned up her boots. Jaina had insisted on wearing her belt and jacket too.

“Will ya do my makeup?” she said. Leia shook her head, testing the braid she had pinned up like a crown. 

“Your father said no,” she said. Jaina sighed and flopped onto the chair. “You don’t need it anyway." A knock sounded on the doorframe and Daddy peeked his head in. 

“You ladies ready?” he asked. He’d shaved and was wearing what Jaina recognized as his best shirt under his vest. He was wearing clean pants, too, and his boots were shiny like Jaina’s. 

“Almost,” said Leia, picking up her shoes. Jaina watched Daddy’s eyes linger on the top of Leia’s head as she did her laces. She stifled a giggle behind her hand. 

“What?” said Daddy, a little heat rising on his tanned face. Jaina grinned. 

“Nothing,” she said singsongingly. “Doesn’t Leia look really pretty?” she teased. Daddy’s mouth fell open and his eyebrows scrunched in a way that clearly asked just what she was training to pull. 

“Leia looks- fine, kiddo,” he said gruffly. Leia laughed. 

“Like what you see, flyboy?” she asked, walking over to get her cape. The heels of her shoes made a pleasing clicking sound on the ground. Daddy rubbed the back of his neck. 

“I just said ya looked fine, Your Worshipfulness,” he said. Leia rolled her eyes. Daddy looked away from her and cleared his throat. “Here, Jaina, let me help ya with that,” he said, bending down to fuss with Jaina’s jacket. 

“Daddy, I’m fine-” she protested, but he was already done. “-Thanks." 

“You guys ready?” asked Luke. He walked in fiddling with his new clothes- a yellow jacket that almost matched his hair over some darks. 

“I think so,” said Leia. “I’ll see you all soon." She left to go meet up with some of the high-up officers. 

“I’m gonna go get Chewie,” said Daddy. “I’ll meet you two there." He left in the opposite direction as Leia. 

“See ya,” said Jaina. “C’mon, let’s go!” Luke laughed. 

“Someone's excited,” he said as they walked down the base. 

“Ain’t you?” asked Jaina. Luke raised his hands. 

“Sure I am. I just thought you’d’ve seen more exciting stuff than a medal ceremony,” he explained. Jaina shrugged. 

“I’ve seen bar fights and stuff, but Daddy never lets me stay long enough to watch,” she said. “Says he don’t want me gettin’ any ideas."

“That’s probably smart,” said Luke. “Ben had to save me from some sleemo at the cantina where we met,” he reflected. 

“I remember that,” breathed Jaina. “He had a lightsaber, I watched ya…” Luke nodded slowly. 

“I wonder if he knew,” he mused. “About everything…” Jaina shrugged. 

“I dunno. He seemed like he knew everything. More than Daddy even,” she said. “And… he talked to me, before we came back. He helped me get Daddy to turn around,” she confessed. Luke stopped walking and stared at her with wide eyes. 

“He spoke in your head?” he asked. Jaina nodded. Luke let out a slow, stunned breath. “I heard him too,” he breathed. “And then I used the Force to blow the Death Star."

“Oh, so that’s why you switched off your targetin’ computer,” Jaina said. 

“Yeah. I thought I just made up his voice… I wonder if the Force can do that." 

“Maybe it can,” said Jaina. Luke nodded. 

“Maybe. And I’m gonna try and find out,” he said. “Oh- there’s your father." Daddy and Chewie came walking up to them. 

“I don’t get why all this fancy getup is necessary,” Daddy said, gesturing around the base. “I don’t see why they can’t just shake our hands and say thanks."

_ “This is important to them, and to Little Princess,”  _ growled Chewie. 

“Ah, c’mon Han, it’ll be fun,” Luke said, jabbing his elbow into Daddy’s side. “It’s not like you have to do anything besides dress nice- sort of,” he amended. Daddy was wearing what looked like normal clothes to anyone else, but they were clean, buttoned up right, and without rips or holes. For Daddy, that was about as fancy as one could hope for. 

“I dressed up,” said Jaina, tugging at her skirt. 

“And you look very nice,” Luke agreed. Jaina beamed. 

_ “Here we are,”  _ said Chewie. 

“How do we know when to go?” asked Jaina, peeking around the door. Lots of people, the whole base, all in uniform, were arranging themselves around the room. 

“Leia said to wait until there was a call-to-attention or something?” offered Luke. In the front of the big hall, someone began talking. “Or I guess we just go when they stop?” Daddy shrugged. Whoever was talking stopped and some marchy sounding music began. 

“I think that’s our cue,” Daddy said. Luke nodded in agreement. They walked down a wide aisle between the rows and rows of rebel soldiers. At the far end of the room, Leia looked like an angel in her white dress. She was standing at the center of the platform in front of the head officer. Jaina was flanked by Daddy and Luke with Chewie behind her as they walked towards Leia. They came to a stop when they reached her. Jaina could see the droids, C3PO and R2D2, in the corner. C3PO had been washed and polished, his golden plating shone brightly. R2D2 had been fixed up and he gave a happy little chirp when he saw Luke and rocked back and forth. Luke grinned at him.

Jaina held very still as Daddy, Luke, and Chewie got their medals. She hadn’t held Daddy’s hand on the walk down but she squeezed it and smiled at him when Leia put the medal around his neck. When it was her turn, Leia grinned at her as she stepped forward. She mimicked Daddy and Luke and bowed her neck. Leia draped a leather loop with a solid weight at the end. The medal was as big as her hand. 

“Thank you,” Leia whispered to her. She gave her a serious nod. Jaina, Daddy, Luke, and Chewie turned around, and they and Leia looked out over the sea of men and women who had all devoted their lives to the Rebellion and to ending the Empire. The rebels broke out into clapping so loud Jaina almost flinched. Chewie gave a triumphant roar. Jaina looked at Daddy, Luke, and Leia and smiled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, happy endings! I hope you guys all enjoyed this fic. (You didn't think I would rewrite A New Hope and not give Chewie his medal did you? The poor guys deserves one just for keeping Han and Jaina alive!)


End file.
